


Let's Duet(Let's Fall In Love)

by hgleiser



Series: Wrong Direction [3]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Music, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Domestic Fluff, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-05-31 13:35:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6471991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hgleiser/pseuds/hgleiser
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mark, Fernando, and the five members of Wrong Direction prepare to fly to New York--and love is taking flight long before the plane does!</p><p>A thousand thanks to L. and K. for the beta as always.  Rated teen for some swearing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let's Duet(Let's Fall In Love)

The loudest days of his life, the ones filled with the sound of last-minute packing and last call for boarding, were the days when Mark caught himself wondering what age he would reach before the longing for a quieter, slower, and lazier existence somewhere in the Australian countryside kicked in. _Forty? Forty-five?_ he wondered as he walked toward the bathroom to gather the toiletries he still needed to put in his carry-on bag. _Which birthday is it going to dawn on me between the beer and Jenson insisting on baking me a cake that I want to start a new chapter of my life? Not that I'm done with this one by any means, but I like to be prepared for whatever comes next. Probably why Fonz and I work well together. I do the planning. He just...does._

He reached for the doorknob just as the door swung in the opposite direction to reveal Fernando in a t-shirt and jeans ruffling his hair with a towel. "Buenos dias. You need the shower? Am almost finished."

Mark swallowed hard and forced himself to not admire the way Fernando's shirt clung to him, wet spots dotting the gray fabric where he hadn't completely dried himself off. _If I do it's going to need to be a cold one_ , he thought.

"No, just need to grab a few things during the calm before the storm." He glanced at the ceiling then at his watch. "They'll come barreling downstairs any minute now and it'll be a marathon until we're 30,000 feet over the Atlantic. I've got all of our boarding passes clipped together in my bag with the address of the hotel, transportation's been arranged, appointments on my calendar, and Lewis informed me last night they've reserved a table for the lot of us for dinner at The Loeb Boathouse in Central Park. Seven pm Tuesday. If he and Nico chose it, it's high-class." He scratched his chin, examining his three-day beard in the mirror above the sink. "Suppose I'll have to give myself a trim."

Fernando shook his head, imagining the feel of Mark's scruff scratching along his jaw line as he leaned in for... _is better to not finish that thought while he is here,_ he scolded himself. "No, no. Is good now."

Mark leaned toward the mirror for a closer look. "Well, as long as it's not out of control before then I'll leave it." He turned his head and winked at Fernando. "Since you asked."

Fernando's face flushed a vibrant pink all the way to the tips of his ears and he immediately tried to occupy himself by crouching in front of the sink and searching through a drawer for some travel size soap.

"Mate, are you all right?"

"Was just looking for where I put my soap..."

"Fernando..." Mark didn't dare ask why the other man had blushed because while his heart hoped it was a sign of affection, his mind was still less than convinced. _I don't know how he feels,_ he thought. _If I don't say anything there's still a chance. If I say something and he's not interested we'll be working together for years in the future unable to look each other in the eye because I was foolish enough to think he was in love with me. This isn't the time. We've got too much to still accomplish._

"Si?"

He clasped Fernando's hand in his and pulled him upright. "I have your soap in with my stuff, come to think of it. I must've grabbed it by accident while packing last night. No worries. It's the one in the blue box, yeah?"

Fernando nodded, his gaze fixed on Mark's fingers intertwined with his own, and smiled. "Was according to your plan?"

"Not this time, mate, though I remember our first press tour together you checked you had everything before we left then asked me in the taxi if you'd remembered your phone charger."

"You remembered I remembered."

Mark rubbed his thumb over Fernando's hand before slowly letting go. "I try to remember enough for the seven of us, though it doesn't always work. Nico hasn't let me live down the day I wasn't paying attention and called him Lewis."

"They look similar to you?" teased Fernando. "Lewis is blonde under his hat?"

"That's what Nico said! Well, sort of. 'Holy shit, Lewis? Do we look so similar?' I think he took it as something of an insult."

Fernando giggled then shrugged. "I think the Princess Rosberg does not want to be mistaken for someone else."

Mark doubled over in hysterical laughter, both arms wrapped around his midsection as tears welled up in his eyes. "Where...where the hell did you hear that?"

"From Lewis and I would never say it to Nico. Still, is very funny." He giggled again as he combed his hair. "Is also true."

"Fonz..." Mark gasped, still trying to recover, "...you are full of surprises."

Fernando smiled, reaching over to pat his back. "I think the best plans have a few along the way."

Just then, the sound of muffled voices overhead grew louder and louder and Fernando chuckled at Mark's weary sigh. "Our work has been cut out, yes?"

"Always is with them." Mark picked up his toothbrush from the glass he kept it in by the faucet then got his toothpaste out of the medicine cabinet. "I think that does it for me. There's always shampoo at the hotel, I'm not picky."

Fernando checked the medicine cabinet to make sure he'd already packed his own toothpaste then closed it with a grin. "So it depends on the situation? You use any shampoo but you only eat my paella."

Mark grinned back at him before making his way back to his room to finish getting ready. "Damn right."

Meanwhile, upstairs Nico was faced with a full-length mirror and a tough decision.

"The white one or the blue one?" He held up each shirt to his chest and frowned. "Or the black one?"

Lewis, who was perched on the corner of Nico's bed, rolled his eyes. "Man, just put one on. It's not like anyone's going to care. The only people who are going to see you are me, the guys, Mark, Fernando, and teenage girls who probably see you shirtless every day on their bedroom walls." He placed the back of his hand against his forehead, sighed dramatically, and pretended to faint on the mattress. "You're their every dream."

"You said you'd give your opinion, Lewis."

"I _did_ give my opinion. Put one on, I don't care which one, and let's go downstairs and eat breakfast while we still have time. You know how Mark is about any of us being late."

"We're not going to be late and you'll still have time to eat cold pizza for breakfast like a normal person."

Lewis grimaced at the thought of congealed pepperoni and mozzarella. "No thanks!"

"Suit yourself, then." Nico pulled his t-shirt over his head and tossed it on the floor, causing Lewis's breath to catch in his throat as he took in every inch of tanned skin and lean muscle before him and its reflection. _Fuck_ , _Nico,_ he thought, _as if one wasn't enough._

He supposed it shouldn't have affected him the way it had. After all, he'd spent part of the last two years sharing dressing rooms with the others at venues with space too limited to afford each of them their own. He'd seen Nico slip into and button up a perfectly tailored white shirt night after night as he was now without batting an eyelid or, if he was honest with himself, paying much attention. _Nothing's changed. I've seen this before...just not by myself in his bedroom with the door closed. Fuck._

"What do you think?" Nico turned toward Lewis with a smile. "This one?"

The opportunity to ogle his hot best friend for seemingly innocent reasons wasn't lost on Lewis and he took his time absorbing every detail--long legs, sculpted arse, slender hips, an alluring glimpse of Nico's chest laid bare by the top two buttons left undone--before meeting his eyes again. "Looks good. Can we go now?"

"You didn't want to see the blue one?" Nico teased. "Not my color?"

 _It's more the fact that I can't handle watching you undress more than once without wanting to push you on the bed and kiss you until you're out of breath,_ thought Lewis, _but we'll go with that for now._

"Nah, white looks better on you. See? I gave my opinion. We're done."

Nico crossed the room to hang the blue and black shirts back in his closet and sighed. "Yes, we're done. We'll go downstairs and you can have whatever weird white stuff you made yesterday that is definitely _not_ pudding."

"It's chia seed pudding with blueberries. It's good, you should try some."

It was Nico's turn to grimace while Lewis opened the door and held it. "You need to make like Jenson and eat more cake. Stop making the rest of us look bad. And you know the door won't close by itself so you don't have to."

Lewis grinned and made a sweeping gesture with his other hand. "Princesses first."

At that moment Jenson passed by and stuck his head in the doorway. "Morning! I see you're getting the royal treatment from your footman, Nico. Lewis is a good lad but a bit untrustworthy since he doesn't like a good slice of chocolate with chocolate icing after dinner. I'd watch out if I were you."

"Sod off, JB." Lewis punched him in the arm.

"It's kind of your fault he started that, Jenson," Nico added. "You're the one who called me Britney last year."

"Only because you're so beautiful." Jenson sighed, fluttering his eyelashes. "Every young man's dream."

Nico, wanting to change the subject as quickly as possible, pointed to the stuffed dog tucked under Jenson's arm and smiled. "You must be finished packing if Buttons is with you."

"Yeah, I did mine last night. Everything else I can almost leave home without but not this little guy." Jenson petted one of Buttons' somewhat threadbare ears. "I keep an eye on him after what happened in Italy a while back."

Lewis smiled, remembering how the hotel they'd stayed in had tweeted Jenson pictures of Buttons hanging out at the reception desk with their staff until he'd been safely returned to him in the post by the time they'd returned to the UK. "They gave him a nice holiday, though I'm sure he'd rather be with his owner."

"Yeah." Nico patted Buttons on the head. "Good morning to you too."

"Morning." The door across from them opened and Sebastian appeared, yawning and rubbing his eyes. "It's too bloody early."

Jenson patted his shoulder. "So that's why you were always late to rehearsal in the old days before we moved in. Bit atypical for a German."

"I like sleeping." A wide smile quickly lit up Sebastian's face. "I'm still German because I'm late at the same time every day."

Nico and Lewis groaned in unison, immediately wishing they hadn't bought Sebastian DVDs of _Little Britain_ and _Monty Python's Flying Circus_ for his birthday last summer because the entire household been inundated with German attempts at British humor ever since. Seb was a good bit of comic relief at the end of a long day, but there were only so many times any of them could stomach him quoting the classic sketch involving a dead Norwegian blue parrot before Mark and Fernando made him stop.

"Tell you what, Seb," said Jenson, "If this music thing doesn't work out I think you've got a real future in comedy."

"Don't encourage him!" Lewis squeezed past them and walked toward the stairs that led into the living room. "Besides, it's time to eat. I'm starving."

"Has anyone seen Kimi?" asked Nico.

Sebastian shot him an "are you kidding me?" look. "Three guesses and the first two don't count."

"Still sleeping?"

"Probably. You know Kimi, he could sleep through a hurricane even without the soundproofing."

Jenson looked bemused. "Probably has. Should we wake him?"

Sebastian shook his head. "Not unless you want a pillow thrown at your face and I speak from experience. Give him a little longer. In the meantime, cold pizza beckons."

"Seb," Nico asked while making his way downstairs, "is there anything you think about that isn't pizza or coming up with terrible jokes?"

Sebastian pondered for a moment and Nico couldn't help noticing that the younger German appeared to be concentrating more on Jenson's smile than giving him an answer. "Hmmm...sometimes."

"Aw, I thought I warranted more often than sometimes." Jenson folded his arms, still holding Buttons, and frowned. "You're breaking my heart, Seb, I'm going to have to pull a Swift and write a song with thinly veiled references to you and our fraught relationship."

"Scheisse, get a room when we get to New York!" yelled Nico, wrinkling his nose and looking disgusted.

Sebastian bit his lip and looked down. "Wouldn't be so bad," he muttered.

Jenson, having heard him, gently placed his hand between his shoulder blades and slowly led him down the stairs. "You mean that? Not like _that_ , of course, I don't take advantage of people I care about."

"Yeah." Sebastian smiled, eyes still shyly cast downward. "We'll be roommates if Buttons doesn't mind sharing the space." _The second I look up is the second I lose my nerve_ , he thought. _Forgive me._

"He's a pretty worldly pup, he'll understand. Seb...are you all right?"

 _Not in the least._ "Fine, fine. I couldn't ask for a better roommate."

"Awwww, thanks!"

"You're welcome." Sebastian crossed the short distance from the living room into the kitchen, his face beet red, and did it so quickly that he almost ran into the refrigerator before opening it. "For fuck's sake," he whispered to himself, "I've got it bad, don't I?"

Kimi suddenly appeared next to him, his face almost touching Sebastian's, and grinned wickedly. "Uh huh. Is always you two."

Sebastian ignored him and took his place at the table across from Nico with the pizza box containing half of the large pepperoni with extra cheese he'd shared with him the night before. "Breakfast is served."

"Danke." Nico picked up a slice and happily ate, enjoying Lewis's grossed out expression from the seat next to him. "You know you want some. Better than Kimi's usual when we're in a hurry."

Kimi placed a bowl full of Coco Pops next to Sebastian then sat down. "More for me."

"Keeps him out of my Lucky Charms too." Jenson sat on the other side of Sebastian and immediately set about seeing how many marshmallows he could scoop up with his spoon at once. "Let's be honest, these are the whole point of this cereal's existence."

"Too right, mate." Mark walked into the kitchen with Fernando at his side. "Morning, everyone. All packed?"

"Yes!" the entire table replied.

"I see we are late for breakfast." Fernando opened one of the cabinets and found the usual bag of French roast then took a pen from one of the drawers. "Have to do this first."

"Fernando, what are you up to?" Mark raised an eyebrow and everyone craned their heads to watch. "That's my coffee you're holding."

"Has been ours for months and you never notice." Fernando giggled as he wrote 'and F. Alonso' below 'property of M. Webber' in bright blue ink. "Is even now since you drink my coffee too. Espresso does not disappear so quickly when is only me."

"Did we miss the invite to the engagement party?" Jenson whispered to Sebastian, who could barely suppress a chuckle.

"You mean the wedding," whispered Lewis.

"Kiss already and get it over with," whispered Nico.

For several tense moments the only sound to be heard was that of Kimi enjoying the rest of his Coco Pops until Mark, to everyone's surprise, gave in with no more than a sigh and a smile. "We're even, Fonz. Well played. It's ours."

Sebastian cocked his head to one side. "That's it?"

"What was that?" Nico looked perplexed.

Kimi drank the last of the milk from his bowl. "Love."

The second they both heard the word, Mark and Fernando exchanged nervous smiles and neither dared to look the other in the eye.

"Um...um..." Fernando made soft noises of unmistakable Spanish panic. "Is..."

"Time for one cup of coffee and a muffin before we need to head out," Mark cut in. "Would the rest of you mind leaving us for a few minutes?"

"Not at all." Sebastian was the first to get up and pushed his chair in then motioned the others to follow him back upstairs, who quickly did so.

"Mark?" Fernando placed the coffee on the counter and began to measure out how much he'd need for a cup for each of them. "What we have is good, yes?"

"Excellent, mate. We work together but it doesn't often feel like you're just my business partner. You're the best friend I've got."

Fernando smiled as he got two mugs out of the cupboard. "My best friend too...do we need to change?"

Mark stepped up behind him and placed his hands on his shoulders to help him relax. "Is this about what Kimi said?"

"Si," came the soft reply.

"That's why I asked them to leave." He gently massaged Fernando's shoulders and neck until he felt the tension leaving his body. "One, this is our personal business. Two, I didn't want to embarrass you. Three, I wanted to tell you that we don't have to put a name to what we have if you don't feel comfortable with it but I want you to know that I care about you." _More than you know,_ he thought. _More than I have words for._

Fernando reached up and placed one hand on top of Mark's while he used the other to pour water into the coffeemaker. "I care about you. I never stop caring." _Am not ready to say yet, but...te amo._

"Then that's what matters the most, Fonz. That's all we need."

"One more thing, Mark...coffee. Always need coffee to keep up with them!"

They both laughed until the pot was filled with sixteen ounces of the necessary fuel for taking four hyperactive musicians--and one Finn--over the Atlantic and Fernando poured it into each of their mugs then added sugar.

"I propose a toast." Mark picked up his mug and smiled down at him. "Or muffin, depending."

Fernando giggled and did the same. "Yes?"

"To us. To New York." Mark clinked his mug against Fernando's and they both took a sip. "And finally, to the only right direction being the wrong one."

 


End file.
